The Octagon Blog

Ron Rose, writer of The Queen of the North, wrote the below article which featured in our 2011-2012 Season Brochure. An article for each production is written at the beginning of a season to give the audience more insight, and an overview, to the productions the Octagon Theatre will have on. Don’t forget to pick up our new 2012-2013 season brochure!

Honest writers know that they’re living by the seat of their pants, they believe that they’re getting away with it, they fear being found out. And from time to time a great actor comes along and gets you out of the mire. You watch open-mouthed, thinking: “I wish I’d thought of that!’ and you’ve written the words they’re speaking!

Elsie Tanner, as created, embodied and acted by Pat Phoenix, was that kind of character. Pat had achieved a more than decent career before she met Elsie. She appeared in films with Sandy Powell and Frank Randle for Mancuinan Films, a local film company set up by the legendary John E. Blakely, to provide cinema for the Northern working class in the days before television. Pat also worked in Variety, and picked up parts in the films of the ‘kitchen sink’ genre; and she was a well-paid leading lady in plays that toured the number one theatre throughout the North. She was sexy and passionate, she always had star quality. Her great potential was finally realised in Britain’s greatest soap in a part that she took to her heart.

Pat was a ‘celebrity’ before that most contemporary of phenomena had got into full stride. Her life was fodder for the emerging tabloids. She cast herself as the British version of a Hollywood star. But she was insecure enough to stick to home turf – the North – whenever possible.

Elements of Pat Phoenix flashed out the character of Elsie Tanner. They call it acting. But the private Pat was not as tough as Elsie, not as hard. She was complex and vulnerable. She was always searching for the personal happiness that she believed was every woman’s right. It was a heroic journey. She was a great lady. She was a Star.

And along the way some writers got lucky!

Ron Rose, Writer of The Queen of the North

The Queen of the North press night took place on Friday 4 May 2012 – this is when all the press are invited to see the production to then write up a review.

This particular press evening we were excited to see a familiar face in the audience, in the shape of Tony Booth!

As you may, or may not know, Pat Phoenix married Tony Booth 10 September 1986 on her death bed, after suffering with lung cancer. Sadly, eight days later she died in her sleep, aged 62.

John McArdle plays Tony Booth in the Octagon production of The Queen of the North, but if he felt any extra pressure to play the role the night the man was there himself, you definitely couldn’t tell!

Tony and John are old friends and interestingly John was his best man in real life – but not when Tony married Pat I should add!

Ron Rose, writer of The Queen of the North, also enjoyed a chat with Tony Booth.

It’s opening night for The Queen of the North tonight (Thu 3 May 2012) and we can’t wait to see it!

One member of the Company is no stranger to the Octagon Theatre as she used to be part of the activ8 youth theatre when she was younger!

Sally Hodgkiss is back, and she kindly took the time out of rehearsals to tell us what it feels like to return to the Octagon and how it had an impact on her becoming a professional actor…

When did you get involved in the Octagon’s youth theatre?
I joined the Octagon Youth Theatre when I was 11 and attended until I was about 17 when A-levels (and boys..) took over my free time. During my time there I got involved in as many productions as possible. One play I was in featured some deaf young actors who taught us the signs for our lines, and that experience had such an impact on me that I went on to study British Sign Language as part of my degree.

When did you decide you wanted to become an actress?
I always wanted to act. My mum had to endure many years of me putting on plays (and I use the word plays very loosely) in our front room after school. In fact I once pretended to be Annie – as in the little orphan – for 3 days straight, musical numbers included, and it’s a wonder that none of my family strangled me. At school I was in every play going, which continued at university where I also joined an improvised comedy team. I feel so at home when I’m performing. So really it was inevitable that this is what I’d end up doing.

How did your time at the youth theatre help you get to where you are now?
activ8 had a huge impact on my life as a teenager. I remember always having loads of homework and being a general stress head at school but as soon as I came into the theatre all my worries subsided and nothing else mattered. It gave me a real sense of confidence and was a safe environment where I could play and have fun.

How does it feel coming back to perform at the Octagon as a professional?
I’m very excited to be performing here professionally, I feel like this theatre is in my blood and it was only a matter of time until I would be back here on this stage. I must admit I didn’t expect I’d be wearing a hairnet and a false bust, but it’s all part of the fun!

Do you feel that access to projects such as the activ8 youth theatre, are important?
I think activ8 is at the heart of the Octagon Theatre. Its work is vital to the community because it makes the arts accessible to everyone, and provides fantastic projects and opportunities to many groups that might not usually get the chance. Whether that be a youth theatre group, or a playwriting class for the over 50s or a film making project for young people with learning disabilities, activ8 provides so much for Bolton and the surrounding area, the significance of which cannot be underestimated.

The Queen of the North opens at the Octagon Theatre one week today (Thurs 3 May)! We can’t wait to see the world premiere production written by Ron Rose.

We asked Associate Director at the Octagon, and Director of The Queen of the North, Elizabeth Newman, to give us five reason why you shouldn’t miss this new drama…

1. It is about an iconic northern star – Pat Phoenix of Coronation Street

Pat Phoenix walked the famous cobbled streets as the fiery Elsie Tanner. She was in Corrie for nearly 25 years and we’re giving you the opportunity to get to know the real woman!

2. Backstage secrets
Phoenix’s life very much mirrored that of the character she played on the street. This new drama gives you an insight into what happens behind the scenes, both back stage and off camera. The glamour and the grit come together to tell you the truth about her life as a star.

3. A celebration of northern women
Pat Phoenix is one of the great iconic figures to emerge from television. Her potential was realised in Britain’s greatest soap in a part that she took to her heart. Born into a working-class family in Manchester she worked hard and turned herself into a house hold name. She was loved by millions.

4. A superb cast
Not only do we have the captivating Lynda Rooke, a familiar face on both stage and television, playing Pat Phoenix but also the delightful John McArdle playing Tony Booth. John knows Tony very well – he even been Tony’s best man! The two ‘tour de forces’ are joined by four other exceptional talents who will become the many people in Pat’s life including Violet Carson and Alan Browning.

5. A new play by a great writer

Ron Rose wrote the celebrated television drama about the life of Pat Phoenix: The Things You Do for Love: Against the Odds that aired in 1998. He revisits her life here in this new play written specifically for the Octagon. Ron captures Pat’s love of life and people. He makes us laugh and cry in a heartbeat, and reminds us the pursuit of love is an honourable life mission!

The Queen of the North on Thu 3 May – Sat 26 May 2012.

Also featured on What’s On Stage.

A recent project that activ8’s INDRA group have been part of involved a trip to South Africa. For more information about activ8’s INDRA and what it is please click here.

Hannah Middleton, facilitator for INDRA, went on this trip of a lifetime. Here she kindly shares her account of what she got up to in South Africa…

I first got involved with INDRA in January 2011. I had been volunteering with Activ8 for about eight months, but I felt like gaining further experience with a different group. I was attracted to INDRA because of the ethos behind the group. The name INDRA stands for “International Development of the Arts for Reconciliation”. The group in Bolton uses the Arts, primarily Drama to address topics and issues that affect them. I believe that the arts is one of the best tools that we have for promoting change.

During the trip I was one of the “leaders”. One of the young people said I was a parent to seven teenagers, which was a pretty scary idea, but not that far removed from what I did! (Although I’m not sure they’d draw on their own parents while they were asleep on the plane). Thankfully there was quite a few “leaders” and we all shared responsibility. Once we got to South Africa and work commenced, I was expected to do just as much work as the Young People, including mixing concrete in the midday sun and painting ceilings as I could reach them!

It was hard to know what to expect in all honesty. Johannesburg recently hosted the World Cup in 2010 and is classed as a “world city”, but the images of the African continent in extreme poverty, that we see in the media conflicted with this idea. It was also the first residential trip that I had ever done with a group of young people, so I apprehensive but up for the challenge!

We did a little bit of everything! As I mentioned before I seem to get roped into painting the bits that other people couldn’t reach quite a lot, but there was the opportunity to try lots of different things. While we were there we had to build a day-centre out of shipping containers, which was a lot of work. We used power tools for grinding and cutting out windows and doors. There were foundations to be laid, welding to be done, Alex and the two Ben’s even tiled a bathroom floor, without any previous experience. It was extremely satisfying seeing a job completed and it wasn’t all hard work. A lot of fun was had as well, including the day Nat and Jen painted me instead of the walls!

Went we went into a Non-Formal Settlement and saw the families that lived on as little as a £14.00 a month Government benefit. It really opened all our eyes to the poverty in the country and he gulfs between rich and poor. While there we gave out food and bags of clothing and everybody agreed that it was a deeply upsetting but worthwhile experience. On a happier note,  on one of our last days we got to play with Lion Cubs, which was amazing as well!

The work of INDRA is extremely important to the Young People who attend. It gives them a safe space to come and discuss ideas and share stories. The group in Bolton consistently blows me away with their thought-provoking and insightful contributions to the sessions. INDRA aims to build up community regardless of location. Since its conception in 2010 members of the Bolton group have attend the INDRA World Congress in Plymouth and visited other INDRA groups in Derry and Burnley and now the South Africa trip. Giving Young People from Bolton the opportunity to travel and experience other communities and environments helps them to value and invest more into their own.

Coming Soon…we will have an account from another individual who also went on the trip to South Africa.

I’m Alice, a third year Philosophy student at the University of Leeds, with an interest in working in a theatre… Philosophy and theatre doesn’t quite fit I know, so I’ve been filling my holidays with as much experience as I can. This Easter I’ve spent 4 days working at the Octagon in the Communications department, which has been the best placement I’ve done by far! Everyone here is so lovely and has really made me feel welcome, plus I’ve been doing loads of really interesting things.

On the first day, I met Helen (Head of Communications) and she gave me a tour around the building, it’s got so many twisting turning corridors I still couldn’t tell you how to get from one side to the other! After that I sat in on a departmental meeting and got a bit of a feel for what was going on whilst I was around, which was a lot by the sounds of it. In the office everyone is working really hard to get the brochure ready for the new season launch in May. So my first task was to pitch in with that, Helen gave me a marketing strategy for their forthcoming production of ‘The Queen of the North’ and asked me to use it as a template to come up with a few marketing ideas for the new shows. I’d never done any marketing before so I dived right in with my fingers crossed I was getting it right! I spent the whole day researching the new shows, looking at their themes and what message the Octagon would want to put across in their campaign. I had a think about what type of audience the show might be aimed at, and come up with ideas of how to market the show through social media and what content could go online to draw more interest to the show and make more people want to come and see it. By the end of the day I had ideas for a campaign strategy for five shows, along with quotes about the shows for the new brochure. It took me a good few hours but I’d done it right and was quite pleased with myself!

I knew that in the morning of my second day there was a ‘meet and greet’ with the team and cast of ‘The Queen of the North’ which had just gone into rehearsal, and I was quite nervous about it! But there was no need to worry, everyone stood in a big circle and said who they were and what they did at the theatre before we were shown a model of the set and some sketches of costume designs for all the different characters. It was really interesting and I thought it was good that the director, Elizabeth Newman, made time to give everyone, even those who work outside the rehearsal room, a little more insight into the development of the show. I spent the rest of the morning going through recent copies of the papers looking for any mention of the Octagon, cutting it out and recording which paper it was and the date. I found a few articles and my fingers were black by the end of the morning! My afternoon tasks was to update the show archives on the website, so I set out with the season brochures from way back in 2003 and by the end of the day had uploaded about 8, being really careful not to make any mistakes!

By the third day I felt more relaxed working in the office and being around all the people at the theatre since they were all being so friendly! This helped as I was to spend the morning meeting the actors in ‘The Queen of the North’ and checking that they were ok to do interviews with the press and if they had any stories connected to the show that could be used to promote it. I then sat in on an interview with David Thacker for a feature about well-known people in Bolton. He was asked what had got him to be who he was today and his answer was really interesting, charting how he started directing to the people he worked with. I spent the afternoon sitting in on rehearsals for ‘The Queen of the North’, I was a little apprehensive about going in at first, not wanting to get in the way and be a nuisance, but I was made to feel really welcome by everyone. They were focusing on small scenes from the play, reading them through, sketching them out on the stage and paraphrasing the scenes. It was exciting to watch these small scenes develop even just a little bit in front of me.

It’s now my last day here, which I’m a little sad about, but over these four days I’ve met some lovely people, done lots of exciting and interesting things and generally had a really worthwhile experience. So what have I learnt in my short amount of time working here? In a nutshell, how important what goes on behind the scenes is just as important as what goes on in front of them, that everyone here has a lot to do and how enjoyable it is to work in a friendly atmosphere doing something you truly are excited about.

Oh, and go and see The Queen of the North, it looks like it’s going to be a really good show.

To celebrate the opening of MediaCityUK the BBC, joint with Salford University, set up a project that provided six student scriptwriters with the chance to see their work performed at a special showcase event that took place on Wednesday 21 March 2012. (For more information about the project click here.)

Students were given the opportunity to work with BBC Writersroom North to develop short plays about or inspired by Salford.The winning plays, were performed by professional actors and directed by our very own Associate Director and head of new writing department Elizabeth Newman.

Winners with Shobna Gulati

Below are the short speeches the winners wrote about their experience:

ADAM WHITTAKER
English undergraduate, Playwriting module student

“As a new writer I can’t really explain just how privileged I feel to be involved with this project. From the very beginning every single part of it has been an important lesson in what it means and what it takes to be a writer. I feel honoured to have learnt so much from so many helpful people. Finding out that I was one of the winners was in all honesty, a complete shock. I want to thank all the judges and everyone involved for giving me this precious opportunity.”

MATT BRITTON

Scriptwriting postgraduate

“Writing is a solitary act. You sit alone in front of a computer, tapping out your thoughts, pretty disconnected from whoever it might be who will ultimately benefit from your work. Writing for performance can be difficult to gage because if there are no actors to perform it or no audience to watch it – you’re ultimately creating a script for the imaginary reader or critic in your head. ‘Write by the Quays’ has been so useful for me personally, as it has allowed me to see the words on the screen transform to words in the mouths of actors; my thoughts have become the thoughts of living, breathing characters.

I’m grateful for the Bolton Octagon for treating what is essentially a novice script with the respect reserved for a professional writer. Every writer dreams of getting their work read or seen, ‘Write by the Quays’, is a fantastic opportunity for both. I’m so appreciative for the time and resources the BBC, Salford University and Bolton Octagon have poured in to make it happen.”

SOHPIE MOSS
English and Creative Writing undergraduate, Playwriting module student

“Winning Write by the Quays has given me the confidence boost I desperately needed in my writing. I had lost faith in my work and did not think my ideas would amount to anything worth reading yet now I cannot wait to get stuck in to my creative writing work. My family and friends are really proud of me, and that’s something that I’ve always strived for – to be someone that other people are proud of.”

SHERYL CUNLIFFE
Contemporary Theatre Practice undergraduate, Writing for Performance module student

First of all may I thank the BBC and the University of Salford for giving me this wonderful opportunity with Write by the Quays. Being able to show my work in such a capacity along with overseeing the rehearsal process has given me a unique insight and one which not all writers can claim to have had the privilege of, so early on in their career.

DAMIAN HEALY
Performing Arts undergraduate, Playwriting module student

“Winning the ‘Write by the Quays’ event, is far more than simply winning a writing competition.  ‘Write by the Quays’ has allowed new writers a very valuable opportunity in getting their name and work heard, and their diverse talents and voices recognised.  Moreover, having work produced before an audience of BBC professionals, spread across a wide variety of departments, is, for many, a once in a life-time opportunity.”

To the winners from all of us at the Octagon Theatre: “Congratulations!”

James Leach, Literary Trainee at the Octagon Theatre, provides us with another exciting update of what went on at our Macbeth Investigate Day on 3 March:

Robert Cavanah [Macbeth] & Suzan Sylvester [Lady Macbeth]

“The Investigate Day for Macbeth came with a twist this month, twinned as it was with the University of Bolton’s Department of English and Creative Writing. The morning was jam-packed, with three very different lectures on Macbeth, followed by a practical workshop on how to approach a Shakespearean text, delivered by Simon Trinder.

Rather fittingly for a morning that was to be shared between two of Bolton’s best loved institutions, the first lecture from Professor Richard Wilson was on the subject of duality and the double in Macbeth. This provided audience members with some useful insight into the context of the play. For Wilson, Macbeth is a play about the struggle for a kingdom, written during a time of transition in England. Macbeth is the dark double for James I, the newly crowned King of England, who finds himself ruling over two kingdoms, having already been crowned King James VI of Scotland. Macbeth is Shakespeare holding a mirror up to the court of James I. This was the England of the Gunpowder Plot, a country traumatised by terrorism and treason and, for Professor Wilson, there are parallels between Macbeth’s seizing of the throne, and the bloody circumstances that allowed James to become King of England, namely the execution of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots.

Jack Sandle [Macduff]

What the next two segments of the morning had in common were that they both concerned themselves with visual representations of Macbeth. First, we were treated to the history of the play and the graphic novel/comic book form by Dr Mel Gibson What became clear from this lecture was that almost all attempts at putting the text into art form have resulted in the sanitising of its darker elements, with many representations of Macbeth being colourful, and almost camp. After a coffee break, this segued nicely into a quick tour of filmic representations of Macbeth and the conflict between the visual and the verbal imagery of Shakespeare’s text.  Brid Andrews and Dr Jami Rogers focussed on the difficulty of representing the supernatural elements of the play. An excellent example would be the three witches, or Weyard Sisters: how does one accurately portray characters that are, in Shakespeare’s world, not human? The lecture closed with a clip from Throne of Blood, a Japanese film from 1957, which transposes the play to feudal Japan, and chooses to portray Shakespeare’s three witches as one, forest spirit.

Iestyn Arwel, Georgina Strawson and Russell Dixon [Weyard Sisters]

Finally, the morning moved into the practical, with a short workshop from experienced Shakespearean actor Simon Trinder on how to play a scene from Macbeth. With the help of six volunteers from the audience, Simon demonstrated how any scene can be broken down into playing its objective. Using Act 1, Scene 7 from the play, wherein Lady Macbeth attempts to convince her husband to kill King Duncan, Simon demonstrated how a scene can be altered by even the slightest changes in voice, physicality and the speed at which the dialogue is delivered.

Next month, The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan will be going under the Investigate microscope. Join us again in April to read more…”

After months of hard work activ8’s The Company will be opening with their production of A Way Out, written by Generate, tomorrow afternoon (Fri 17) at the Octagon Theatre.

The flyers and programmes are being printed as we speak – both designed by The Company – and below you can see the final design of the flyer, and the blurb which will give you an insight into what the production is about:

A gang of teenagers find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time after they break into an abandoned house.

One action causes the lives of the teenagers to change forever…

After arriving at school on Monday morning they learn that a fellow pupil has lost his life. Panic ensues when they discover the abandoned house is where he died. When the accusations mount up, their friendships are soon consumed by guilt.

Will the gang stick together or will their consciences finally get the better of them?

One final update from the production team before the cast take to the stage tomorrow:

“We’ve been working hard these past few weeks and we’ve been ahead of schedule for most of it! We were lucky enough to catch the cast rehearse scenes 7 and 8. In scene 7 there is some combat which has been choreographed by, actor facilitator, Jake Norton. It looks AMAZING!! There is a funny moment with a grape and we can’t stop laughing at it…we won’t tell you as it will spoil it for when you come and watch it!

See you soon,

The Company x”

You may, or may not know, that the Octagon Theatre has more to offer on top of the Main Auditorium productions! These events and activities include: Experiments, Music, and Literature.

James Leach, Literary Trainee at the Octagon Theatre, gives us an insight into our riveting Investigation Days!

This particular Investigate Day that James is talking about was based around Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and involved exploring great writers including Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and, of course, Edward Albee himself.

Saturday 8 October 2011

“It would be difficult to condense a morning devoted to a discussion of American drama into one theme. But, as actors, directors, writers and theatregoers gathered for a day devoted to an investigation into the Octagon’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee, the theme that perhaps best summed up the events of the day is one of ‘authenticity’.

The theatre’s own Artistic Director David Thacker had already directed two earlier productions of Albee’s three act play prior to this version, which marks another addition, not only to David’s extensive American theatre portfolio, but to the Octagon’s growing canon of productions by great American writers such as Albee, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.

The Investigate day forms a small, but nonetheless integral, part of every production the Octagon presents. Most importantly, this is because it is another excellent example of this theatre’s ever growing commitment to wider community outreach and engagement.

The session was well-attended and had something for actors, writers, directors and of course audience members. And, by the end of the morning, there was a general consensus that the best plays are those which bring the four together and make theatre a unifying and collective experience.

For the ticket holders of session, there was a chance to see how David and a group of actors all well-versed in American play texts, approached rehearsals, line-learning, and even the pressures that come from juggling a performance in the afternoon, with catching the Rugby World Cup in the morning!

At the core of the discussion was the question of removing the artifice of a stage play, and the importance of playing a scene as if the actors are speaking it for the first time. This is, as Margot Leicester (who plays Martha in the production) pointed out, the paradox of rehearsal: how to become familiar with a text whilst never losing the spontaneity which, arguably, only the medium of theatre can provide.

Using an extract from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, David used two exercises to achieve this. The first involved paraphrasing the script, so that the actor could create their own version of what the playwright is saying, before integrating the text itself back into their own performance. Secondly, David encouraged the actors to ‘play the objective’ of the scene, replacing the actual dialogue with the wants and needs of the character in that moment. Finally, a speech from Miller’s A View From The Bridge was used to show how an actor can break a speech down into the most painstaking thoughts and inner doubts.

The outcome of these exercises went some way to explaining what continually draws the Octagon, and its audiences, to these great American plays. For both director and actor were able to deftly use these exercises to de-mystify the scenes they were playing, whilst at the same time demonstrating how these plays continue to stand the test of time, as the dialogue in these plays lends itself easily to intention, need and emotional truth.

At the end of the day, the question turned to how the Octagon can further involve the wider Bolton community in plays such as these. The answer is surely only more of the same: further opportunities for audiences to engage with the mechanisms of rehearsal, to see the play being interrogated by the actors.”

Arthur Miller’s career was forged against a backdrop of recession and the cooperation this forged in American theatre. Now faced by a similar economic outlook, the Octagon should be congratulated for its continued spirit of unity, collaboration and enquiry as it continues to bring great American drama to its audiences.”

Keep following the blog for more Investigate Day updates from James.